Fresh off guiding the College of Charleston to its first ever appearance in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, Robin Harmony is taking on a new challenge.
Pitt is hiring Harmony as its next women’s basketball coach, the Panthers announced Monday, March 23. Harmony will attempt to revive a program that hasn’t had a winning record in ACC play since 2015, which was also the last time it participated in March Madness.
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Harmony replaces Tory Verdi, who was fired after three seasons in which he accumulated an overall record of 29-66 and was recently sued by six former Pitt players in the U.S. District Court for Western Pennsylvania, alleging that he inflicted “emotional, psychological, and physical abuse” against the players and that he created a “hostile, discriminatory, and retaliatory environment.”
For Harmony, being hired at Pitt is a return to the conference where she was an all-time great player. In 2013, she was named an ACC Legend to acknowledge the career she had with the Miami Hurricanes. Harmony still ranks top 10 all-time in points and rebounds at Miami and owns the single-game assist record. She’ll coach against the Hurricanes at least once a year in the ACC.
Three people familiar with Pitt’s search told USA TODAY Sports that the Panthers’ initial top target was Glenn Box, the coach of Miami Ohio, but he received a contract extension through 2032 after guiding the RedHawks to the NCAA Tournament. Other candidates that Pitt athletic director Allen Greene explored included Cleveland State head coach Chris Kielsmeier and Penn’s Mike McLaughlin.
“Throughout this process, it was important for us to find someone who understands the value of connection with our student-athletes, with our alumni, and with the broader Pitt community,” Greene said in a statement. “Coach Harmony has built a reputation on forming meaningful relationships with student-athletes and leading with an athlete-centered philosophy that prioritizes their growth both on and off the court.”
Robin Harmony looks on as Charleston plays against Duke during the first round of the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 20, 2026.
A native of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the 64-year-old Harmony got her start in coaching at Miami by working as an assistant under Lin Dunn. She returned to Coral Gables, Florida, a few years later and was the associate head coach under Ferne Labati. In 2005, she became the head coach at St. Thomas, an NAIA school in Florida, and remained there until 2013 when she got her first Division I head coaching gig at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas.
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After spending six seasons at Lamar, where she won 115 games and three conference titles, she jumped back to the east coast to take the job at Charleston. Building the Cougars into a team capable of playing in the NCAA Tournament took a while, but Charleston is 74-24 over the past three seasons and has dominated in the CAA.
Charleston, a 14-seed in this year’s tournament, suffered a lopsided first-round loss at Duke, but CAA Player of the Year Taryn Barbot scored 36 points in the defeat, the most the Blue Devils have given up to a single player all season. Taryn and her twin sister Taylor each have one year of eligibility remaining.
“Our kids never quit. We did make them turn the ball over 20 times, which is a good plus, a positive from it. We didn’t get blown out of the gym,” Harmony said after the 81-64 loss. “We worked and kind of held our own. If we’d have hit some more of the 3s and point-blankers, it could have been a closer margin.”
Harmony is 237-149 all-time as a head coach in Division I women’s basketball and has won at places where doing so had been historically difficult and has recruited talented players to those places to help her pile up victories. At Lamar, she coached Chastadie Barrs, who is the NCAA’s all-time leader in career steals. Harmony has also twice been named a conference Coach of the Year, winning the Southland honor in 2018 and the CAA award this season.
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Now, Harmony’s job will be to turn around a Pitt program that hasn’t won anything of significance in over a decade. She’ll be asked to do more with less, and compete at a high level in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
“I look forward to recruiting exceptional student-athletes to one of the nation’s leading academic institutions with a proud athletic tradition; young women who will succeed in the classroom and compete at the highest level in the ACC,” Harmony said in a statement. “My promise to Pitt fans is to build a team that reflects the spirit of the University and the City of Pittsburgh with grit, determination and teamwork.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pitt hires Charleston’s Robin Harmony as women’s basketball coach
